Ask a Native
Ask a Native
Why re-brand an iconic casino such as the Sahara into something as soullessly named as “SLS”?
March 7th, 2013
You aren’t the only one asking this question; if my friends are any indicator, plenty of locals are hand-wringing about what they see as the blanding of Vegas branding. Some of this concern is nostalgic (“The Sahara is classic Rat Pack Vegas!”), some of it is preservationist (“Las Vegas always destroys its own history!”), and some of it is aesthetic (“It’s going to be all white walls and glass. Yuck!”). Read more »
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February 28th, 2013
Over the course of 60 columns, I’ve received many questions, a few kind words and some welcome bits of insider information. As you’ll see below, your notes help fill in the memory map of our town. So, here’s my note to you: Keep up the good work! Read more »
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I remember visiting Vegas with my parents in the 1970s, a wide-eyed teenager gaping at the number of hookers on the Strip. Where did they go?
February 14th, 2013
Until the early 1980s, streetwalkers were rampant in Las Vegas. They were so aggressive that some locals remember being almost pulled from their cars by “Hey, baby!” solicitations. Read more »
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Is There a “Vegas Way” of Tipping?
February 7th, 2013
Mostly, the usual service-industry tipping standards of Los Angeles or New York City apply, with a few Vegas additions. Card dealers get tipped; old-school standard is 10 percent of buy-in, but today it’s more common to tip only when winning. Engaging bartenders who wish you luck and never let your drink run dry get 5-10 percent when you hit that royal flush. Read more »
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What was the seemingly abandoned metal tower at 11th Street and Ogden Avenue used for?
January 31st, 2013
Abandoned is a good word for it. This has been incredibly difficult to track down, with minimal results. Scouring the Clark County Assessor’s records of the land at the northwest corner of those two streets revealed nothing; the parcel in question was consolidated in 2009 (#139-35-211-121), so no official individual record exists of the corner slice where the tower stands. Read more »
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I remember swimming at Lorenzi Park as a kid, but I think it was in a pool, not a pond. Can you fill in my memory?
January 24th, 2013
If Las Vegas ever had a Central Park, Lorenzi was it. I visited it regularly as a child, and my mother has numerous photos of the family picnicking under huge Mesquite trees, feeding the ducks and swinging on the giant “kite swing” that the park had in the 1970s. Read more »
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Is it true that most Las Vegans don’t own a winter coat?
January 17th, 2013
So, while most Las Vegans probably don’t have a down-stuffed snow-survival suit, most own a winter coat. As for the folks sporting T-shirts and flip-flops during last week’s desert freeze? They were either Alaskan tourists enjoying our “nice weather” or Vegas fools stubbornly stumping for pool season while giving the rest of us a bad rep. Read more »
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What happened to the ATP tennis tourney that Las Vegas hosted a few years ago?
January 10th, 2013
Unfortunately, the Tennis Channel Open was sold to the ATP and moved to South Africa for 2009. The tournament never achieved stellar attendance figures here, particularly during weeknight sessions, when our notorious spring winds combined with the dry desert chill to chase away fans. Also to blame? A declining American love affair with tennis that can be traced, at least in part, to the nearly 10-year gap since an American man won a Grand Slam tournament. Read more »
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Will any of those condo projects of the mid-2000s be built in the future?
January 3rd, 2013
Anything is possible, and the future is long time, but my guess is no. The spate of projects was announced when development money was relatively cheap and easy to get, and the boiling Las Vegas residential real estate market suggested that the fantasy of buying in a luxury high-rise for (up to) $800 a square foot was reasonable. None of that’s been true for years. Read more »
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What happened to the Swim-In-Pool neon sign?
December 20th, 2012
In November 2009, Swim-In-Pool’s sliding-girl sign suffered an electrical fire and was extensively damaged. Repairs, which required the garage-made sign to meet current code, would have cost tens of thousands of dollars. The owners decided not to pursue it. Read more »
